HAMLET by William Shakespeare. Directed and designed by Janni Younge. Baxter.
MEGAN CHORITZ reviews
It happened in seconds. As the lights go down in the auditorium and the guards are at the wall, confronting the elusive, shadowy ghost, we are drawn into this strange world of giant headed puppet people, with spectre bodies and human hands.
And then the story of Hamlet unfolds, this time with drama, movement, and wonder. The puppets themselves are incredible, and the relationship between the puppeteers and each other, and then the puppets themselves is pure magic. When the cast came forward to take their bows, I was shocked when I was confronted with just seven performers. Only seven human bodies made all these characters, the big ones and little ones, with mostly two humans manipulating and bringing to life one character.
The text of Hamlet is no joke. There are a lot of words. Here it has been seamlessly cut into an absolutely engrossing hour and a half, and with brilliant performances by Mongi Mtobeni, Roshina Ratnam and Timothy Redpath in particular, the tragic story of Hamlet is told. Mongi’s Hamlet is perfect. Young, tortured, funny, ironic, bitter, naïve, and complicated. I love him. Roshina’s Gertrude is tragic and whimsical, her Polonius just the right balance of pomposity and idiocy. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are the perfect puppet twins, and Ophelia, played by both Beviol Swartz and Tsiamo Moretlwe, is a pure and troubled teen. Her death scene is exquisite.
Magical moments
So many magical moments, but one that I absolutely adored was the double Hamlet point of view in the ‘get thee to a nunnery’ scene.
Visually this production is breath taking. From the creepy tendril screens to the player puppets, the sad willow under which Ophelia drowns, to the massive and terrifying ghost of Hamlet’s father, it is an ever changing, liquid and visceral experience.
But those hands! Those human hands holding puppet heads, goblets, swords. Those human hands clutching at puppet fabric hearts and bellies. Those hands reaching out, touching each other, carrying the dead, describing a journey across the seas. Roshina’s hands are one thing when she is Gertrude and quite another when she is Polonius. Extraordinary.
There are so many moments of pure genius and inspiration here. Janni Younge and her team have transformed Hamlet. This production is so beautiful there were times when I gasped loudly. My breath was taken away. I had tears. Other times I laughed out loud. This is magical, visual, fluid, and awesome puppet theatre, and probably the easiest way to understand the tragic story of Hamlet.
What: Hamlet
Where and when: Baxter from 22 February to 11 March 2023
Tickets: Webtickets
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